Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a potentially fatal condition that can occur during or after birth. If your child suffered such an injury, you might be entitled to compensatory damages.
A Naperville hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy lawyer can fight for your rights and seek compensation on your behalf. Call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 to find out more.
For a free legal consultation, call 1-800-222-9529
Determining Fault in HIE Cases
If your child was diagnosed with or died from HIE, it is natural to wonder who is to blame. The liable party will be different in every case. Sometimes, there is no liable party: there are still many things doctors do not understand about the human body, so honest mistakes and adverse outcomes, while heartbreaking, unfortunately, happen.
Then there are the cases where your healthcare provider could or should have done something to prevent the brain injury but did not. You may then be entitled to compensation from:
- A medical professional: Your doctor, nurse, or another individual had the tools, experience, and responsibility to do a better job than they did.
- A medical facility: The facility you went to did not buy proper equipment, hired professionals who were not qualified, or otherwise failed to provide you with adequate medical care.
How can you prove your medical provider or facility is liable for your baby’s HIE? You can seek proof from a variety of sources, including your own medical records. A hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy attorney can help you by investigating your child’s injury and compiling all available evidence into the strongest possible case.
Naperville Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Lawyer Near Me 1-800-222-9529
How to Know if Your Child’s Birth Injury Qualifies for Damages
Your case may entitle you to both economic (monetary) damages and non-economic (physical and emotional) damages. According to the Illinois courts, you may be awarded damages based on many factors, including but not limited to:
- Past medical expenses: Your child needed immediate treatment to prevent or mitigate damage caused by the HIE.
- Future medical expenses: Your child will need treatment in the weeks and months ahead or for their entire lifetime.
- Past loss of earnings: You and/or your partner stayed home from work because your child needed additional care following the HIE.
- Future loss of earnings: You and/or your partner will continue to take time off work to tend to your child.
- Pain and suffering: The HIE caused your child noticeable physical distress, and it will continue to cause physical and emotional pain in the future.
- Disability: Your child’s physical and/or intellectual disabilities are a direct result of the HIE.
- Disfigurement: The birth injury and/or treatment necessitated by it has left your child permanently scarred.
- Loss of normal life: Your child will always need help with everyday tasks, and they will never be able to engage in certain types of activities.
Wrongful Death
If you are filing a wrongful death lawsuit—in other words, if your child did not survive the HIE—you may qualify for additional damages, including:
- Funeral expenses: This includes all end-of-life expenses, including the cost of a casket, burial, funeral service, and so on.
- Loss of consortium: You expected to spend the rest of your life with your child, getting to know them and watching them grow up.
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The Statute of Limitations in Your Case
The amount of money you can seek for each type of damage depends on the severity and longevity of the birth injury. If you cannot reach a pretrial settlement with the liable party’s insurance company, it is up to a jury to decide how much you will receive.
Per Illinois Compiled Statutes §13-212, you have at most four years from the date of the malpractice to begin your birth injury lawsuit. So if you are looking for a hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy attorney serving Naperville, Illinois, to help you with your case, call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group as soon as possible at (800) 222-9529.
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Why Should You Hire an Attorney?
You may know that you are eligible for damages, but how do you convince the liable party’s insurance company of that fact? One way is to hire a birth injury law firm to represent you.
Hiring a lawyer may seem like a big step, but it can have many benefits for you and your case. For example, you will not have to worry about arguing with the insurance company and other people’s lawyers. You will get to stay at home with your newborn and the rest of your family while your attorney:
- Notifies the liable party and the appropriate court about your lawsuit.
- Fills out all paperwork and submits it in a timely manner.
- Tracks down evidence to prove that the party you are suing is responsible for your child’s injury.
- Negotiates with the insurance company to convince them to pay what you asked for, not what they feel like paying you.
- Communicates with all relevant parties, including the liable party, so you do not have to field phone calls or letters from them.
- Arranges a trial and represents you in court if the insurance company refuses to negotiate.
- Updates you about your case’s progress and advises you about your legal options.
The Birth Injury Lawyers Group Can Help You Fight for Compensation
Call (800) 222-9529 to speak to a team member about working with a Naperville hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy lawyer at the Birth Injury Lawyers Group. Do not worry about expenses as the initial case evaluation costs you nothing, and many lawyers are happy to defer all fees until after they help you recover compensation.
Call or text 1-800-222-9529
or complete a Free Case Evaluation form